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Economic Justice Covenant

Adopted

June
1, 2014

Jesus proclaimed his ministry in
the temple by reading from Isaiah: “The Spirit of God is upon me, because God
has anointed me to bring good news to the poor. God has sent me to proclaim
release to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to let the
oppressed go free, to proclaim the year of God’s favor.” Luke 4: 18-19. The
2009 United Church of Christ Economic Justice Covenant reminds us that “The
Holy Scriptures, from the Pentateuch through the Prophets, and from Jesus to
St. Paul impress upon the people of God’s Covenant that they are responsible to
God for the well being of the last and the least in the human community.”

Christians are called to do. To be
a Christian is to be a part of creation that necessitates the extension of
God's embrace. Embracing is doing: it is the acceptance of and the extension of
the ongoing resurrection; it is the acceptance of the ongoing crucifixion. In
enacting an Economic Justice Covenant, we are following Faith United Church of
Christ’s Statement of Purpose by acknowledging “God’s presence in the human
affairs of today, as God has been involved throughout history...We, as
Christians, accept this calling to carry out the vision of Jesus Christ for our
age.”

Although God has provided the
world with abundance, poverty and want persist. In the past, Faith United
Church of Christ has striven to build a more inclusive world in its Open and
Affirming Covenant, and has addressed economic inequality in its work toward
equitable consumption practices and in the many acts of mercy it pursues.
Therefore, in keeping with Jesus’ proclamation of his ministry, the constant
summoning of the scriptures and Faith United Church of Christ’s own history,
we, the congregation of Faith United Church of Christ of Iowa City do hereby
enter into covenant with each other and with the world at large, to strive toward
a more equitable distribution of God’s abundance in theworld.

Therefore, be it resolved by the
congregation of Faith United Church of Christ that we will:

1.Create an ongoing program to discern the means
of redressing the inequitable distribution of God’s abundance in our
congregation, our community, our nation, and ourworld.

2.Act upon the revelations found in that
discernment on a personal, congregational, local, national and globalscale.

3.Pledge to continue our current acts of mercy,
regularly evaluating their role in altering the current distribution of
abundance and altering our actions to fit the alteringneeds.

4. Maintain this
covenant as a living document by attaching an ongoing list of our evolving acts
of mercy accompanied by an explanation of the needs that make those acts of
mercy necessary so that all may share in God’s abundance. Further, we the
congregation charge the Council of Faith United Church of Christ to regularly
update this list, or to empower a designated body of its choosing to do so, in
a manner it deems appropriate, making those changes known to the congregation
in a timely and well-documented fashion.

Unique and engaging worship experiences happen every Sunday. But some of our special services include: Candlelight Christmas Eve, Easter Sunrise, Pride Sunday, Blessing of the Animals, Lenten Contemplative Service, etc. Please join us for worship on Sunday at 9:30 am.

Spiritual Music is used to express our faith in ways that are deeper than words alone.

Christian education and spiritual formation are held for all ages after worship. The adults study Scripture, explore special topics, do creative writing, discuss books, engage in artistic expressions of faith, etc.

Relationship-building is central to our life as a community. Adult fellowship deepens our ties to one another through sharing meals, plays, sports, gardening, concerts, games, etc.

Mission activities in the community are an important expression of our faith. Some of our missions include: Twain Operation Backpack, Free Lunch Program, Shelter House, Domestic Violence Intervention Program, Crisis Center, etc. Special mission appeals are also done throughout the year.